Judge denies sex offender's request to shorten probation

DAYTONA BEACH -- Mitchell Westerheide was described as an anti-social sexual sadist when he was locked up for sexual battery on his 15-year-old girlfriend.

Westerheide was 22 when he pleaded guilty in 1995 to a list of crimes that included carving an M for Mitchell on the Edgewater girl's chest.

Out in "the real world" since 2008, when he was released from nine years of "civil commitment" under the state's Jimmy Ryce Act, Westerheide was back in court Wednesday to ask a judge to shorten his probation.

After hearing testimony from a sheriff's investigator and the girl's mother about the torture she endured, Circuit Judge R. Michael Hutcheson denied the request. Westerheide, 37, will remain on supervised probation, with random visits from officials and drug testing, until 2014.

"Given the nature of the allegations," Hutcheson said. "I'm not willing to terminate your probation."

The soft-spoken New Smyrna Beach High School graduate held the girl down on a bed using a bondage device Westerheide made out of chain and fishing hooks. He spoke of the power of pain, and gave her the drug LSD to help her deal with it, police said.

Nearly 18 years have passed since the crimes. The crude torture device is still in a box at the State Attorney's Office, along with a knife decorated with chrome studs. Prosecutors say the evidence illustrates Westerheide's deviant past, and uncertain future.

In court Wednesday, prosecutor Tiffany Adleman pulled the items from the box to convince the judge that Westerheide should remain under the watchful eye of probation officers.

"This was a very egregious offense," Adleman said.

Westerheide spent about four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to lewd and lascivious assault on a person younger than 16, and lewd and lascivious assault. When released from prison, Westerheide became the first local sex offender to be locked up under the Jimmy Ryce Act. He was released from that commitment in 2008, when three psychologists testified he was not likely to re-offend.

On Wednesday, the attorney who fought successfully to get Westerheide released from the Florida Civil Commitment Center in Arcadia asked Hutcheson to cut his probation short.

Jeanine Cohen, a lawyer in Tampa, told Hutcheson that Westerheide has found gainful employment with her law firm. "He's very stable," she said.

Westerheide's 1995 sentence included 16 years of probation and a lifetime as a registered sexual offender.

While Cohen argued that her client has served 11 of those years on probation without incident, and is no longer a danger, prosecutor Adleman asked the judge to deny the request.

"He's been released a little over two years into the real world," Adleman said.

Westerheide appeared in court wearing pressed pants and a white shirt and tie. Gone was the long hair he'd worn when he was released from civil commitment. He did not testify at the hearing.

The mother of the victim, whose name is not being published because of the sexual nature of the crime, told the judge her daughter later refused to come back to Florida because of her anxiety from the crime.

"I think he should have to satisfy the probation to the fullest extent," the mother said.

The Jimmy Ryce Act, named for a 9-year-old Miami boy who was kidnapped, raped and murdered in 1995, took effect in 1999. The law was created to hold violent sexual criminals for treatment after prison and has been challenged since by civil-rights advocates.

The law states that those who have completed their prison terms for sexually violent offenses can be held under a civil commitment for an indefinite period of time if they have a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes them likely to offend again.

About 700 offenders across the state -- about two dozen locally -- are currently held.

Walking out of the courthouse with his parents and lawyer, Westerheide expressed some disappointment but said he enjoyed "the sunshine " and the drive from Tampa.

"I got to see Daytona," he said. "And my parents. I'm doing well."

Cohen said she will continue to ask the court to end his probation in a case she doesn't consider fair. "It was a consensual act," she said.

-----

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.